Thirty-one ECOWAS nationals have been arrested by the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) in the Western Region for their alleged involvement in commercial sex and human trafficking.
The two-day operation, which began on 14 October, 2023 resulting in the arrest of 28 suspected commercial sex workers, including two nursing mothers, and three suspected human traffickers.
According to a statement signed by Assistant Inspector Moses Manford Akakpo, Western Regional GIS Public Affairs Officer, the operation, which lasted several hours led to the arrest of 17 suspects, including the owner and manager of the facility, one Kofi Bekoe, a 62-year-old man at the first instance.
Subsequently, 12 others and two suspected human trafficking collaborators were also picked up in two separate mop-up operations, the statement said.
“In all, the over 30 hours of sustained operation led to the arrest of 28 suspected commercial sex workers, including two nursing mother”.
The other suspects were the two suspected traffickers, Ndubueze Okereke, 37 and his wife, Ifeoma Okereke, 35, all Nigerians with exception of Mr Bekoe, who is a Ghanaian and the host among the suspected trafficking syndicate”.
The statement stressed that the operation was planned and successfully carried out with the support from the authorities in the two Assemblies, owing to the growing concerns of such illegal activities, especially by some of the foreign nationals within their operational communities.
A search, according to the statement conducted as part of the investigations revealed that all the suspects entered the country illegally and, therefore, were without passports or any other travel identification documents, adding that “Further search on them and the premises revealed packs of used and unused condoms especially in the rooms”.
“In a related development, the very same Kofi Bekoe was arrested some months ago and granted bail in order to continue with the investigations into a case of harbouring foreign nationals engaged in commercial sex, contrary to Act 29 of the Criminal Code of 1960, Aliens’ Registration Regulation 1974 (L.I. 856) and Section 13 of the Immigration Service Act 2000 (ACT 573) among other relevant legislations in Ghana”.
Meanwhile, the suspects were currently in the custody of the Western Regional GIS Headquarters for further investigations, prosecution and subsequent repatriation to their country as officials seized the opportunity and called on landlords and property owners across the country to be mindful of the existence of Immigration laws and its consequences by checking and confirming the immigration status of all foreign tenants before renting out their properties to them.
“The Western Regional Command of the Ghana Immigration Service, in its quest to sustain this exercise into the future, used the opportunity to encourage all its stakeholders, including law enforcement agencies, chiefs, opinion leaders, community members, border residents as well as transport/canoe operators to continue supporting its operations in order to ensure maximum security for both the indigenes and the foreign community in the region”.
By Vincent Kubi